Urban across the Country

Urban’s researchers partner with state and local leaders to provide the evidence, tools, and support they need to improve lives and strengthen communities. This work includes strategic advising to translate research into action, program evaluations to measure effectiveness, and research and data analysis to inform decisionmaking. Our experts develop custom data tools and modeling to support equitable resource allocation and lead community-engaged research and convenings to ensure policies reflect local priorities.

Use this page to explore Urban’s work. Search by region to see examples of our research, and filter by evidence and products to narrow results by topic or type of work.

Dive deeper into your state and community with our data tools. View highlighted tools below, select “Data tools” under “Filter by Product Types,” or head directly to our data tools page.

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Explore our work by state
Brief The Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payment Program
Federal law requires state Medicaid agencies to take into account the situation of hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income patients with special needs when determining payment rates for inpatient hospital care. Expenditures for this Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH)
Brief Meritocracy without Rising Inequality?
This policy brief cites evidence for the rising demand for skill in the U.S. labor market. It uses data on wage rates and hours worked from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to look at two questions about wage inequality since the mid-1980s: Are wage differentials becoming more related
Research Report Reports on Reform from the Field
This study represents the first systematic national feedback from states and school districts on the state of education reform since the passage of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1994. It presents findings from a
Brief Planning for the Best of Times
[Washington Post] The welfare rolls have shrunk to their lowest level since 1970, and the president has good reason to celebrate. Yet a close look at the number of welfare recipients who will be required to find work in the next six years suggest that it's too early for political bell-ringing and
Research Report The Other Side of Devolution
This report describes some of the state legislation proposed or enacted in 1995 and 1996 designed to shift program funding or administrative responsibilities from states to localities. The paper also examines the extent to which such devolution took place in the areas of social services, public
Brief Civil Society, the Public Sector, and Poor Communities
The authors discuss the idea of civil society, review differing attitudes about it, and discuss concerns about using it as a tool of public policy. Their principal focus is on civil society and its potential role in the dynamics of poor communities. They review the debates over the roles of state
Commentary Scare Talk about “Crowd-Outs”
[Washington Post] A careful review of the evidence indicates that fewer families than the critics predict will substitute SCHIP for private insurance coverage, a phenomenon known in the policy debate as the “crowd-out” effect. Even when such substitution of public for private coverage occurs, it may